Tuesday, January 19, 1999 Published at 17:36 GMTEntertainmentThunderbirds are going, going, goneGordon, Jeff, Alan and Virgil Tracy have a new ownerMedia conglomerate Carlton Communications has spent £91 million buying a library of over 300 classic film and TV productions from Hollywood giant Universal Studios.

The collection includes legendary movies such as The Eagle Has Landed, Sophie's Choice and The Big Easy, plus a clutch of archive ITV shows including Thunderbirds, The Saint, Captain Scarlett and the mini-series Jesus of Nazereth.

The films were part of the ITC television and film library, which was set up by the now-defunct ITV company ATV, owned by the late impresario Lord Grade.

Lord Grade: His company ATV set up the ITC library

The library was eventually taken over by Polygram Filmed Entertainment, which was bought out by Seagram, Universal's parent company, in a wider takeover of Polygram's business last year.

The deal means Carlton can sell the broadcast rights to the films as well as use the library for its own channels.